Followers of Fred Phelps — who heads Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. — planned to stage protests recently at the local funerals for several of the students who died Feb. 14 in the shooting at Northern Illinois University. These are the folks who have been holding demonstrations at the funerals of military troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a train of thought so twisted it makes my brain hurt, these people believe that God sent Stephen Kazmierczak to NIU "because of the sins of the doomed American people and the crimes that this nation has committed against Westboro Baptist Church," according to the church's Web site. Kazmierczak was the man who killed five people before taking his own life on the NIU campus Feb. 14.

Reading the atrocious ramblings this church has on its Web site, it's hard figuring out who's more deranged: members of this group or the shooter.

Phelps has identified a range of offenses that we Americans have committed, tolerating homosexuality being chief among our crimes. His group then publicly praises incidents of horrific violence as acts of God's wrath against this country.

It's ironic that a man who so detests the freedoms everyone here enjoys seeks protection from the First Amendment when others criticize him for his group's offensive demonstrations. I guess free speech is the only valuable thing to come from a secular document like the U.S. Constitution.

The message of hate being sent by Phelps and his followers is one of the main reasons so many people are (at the very least) skeptical about Christianity. For adherents of a religious faith that preaches unconditional love to spread such vile is an oxymoron.

My understanding of the Bible is that Jesus came to save the lost because he loves them, and that includes all of us. His harshest words were directed at religious leaders who thought they were superior to everyone else and believed this granted them license to condemn others.

Phelps should reconsider his tactics and conform his behavior to God's will. If he insists on preaching hate, it's high time he stop pretending he's practicing Christianity.

Jerry Moore is a news editor with GateHouse Media. He can be contacted at jmoore@mysuburbanlife.com.